Just the Beginning
by Teddiursa48
Summary: Topanga's decision was tough on everyone. It was especially tough on Maya. When the decision is made to stay in New York, things change. The thought of Riley leaving has made everyone think. New feelings are revealed and a new triangle forms... Post series finale. Rilaya :3
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I lay alone in darkness. I buried my head in my pillow, sobbing uncontrollably. I couldn't let them hear me. If they did, they'd try to make me feel better, but that would only make me feel worse. I couldn't be seen at this point of weakness. But that was the problem. I _was_ weak. I was nothing. Nothing without _her._

 _'They couldn't do this to me. They can't take her away,'_ I thought. I turned onto my back, deepening my breathing and trying to calm myself. _'She's the reason I wake up in the morning with a smile on my face. I love her too much to let her go.'_

I eventually fell asleep and into a dream. A nightmare. I was in an airport. I was alone at first, standing in silence. It was an eerie silence. Eerie because most airports are busy with travellers trying to get from place to place. Not here, everything was still. Dead. Silent. Then there was a crackle in the air followed by a voice over a PA system.

"Flight 203 for London, England is now boarding," it said. I was near that flight. It was right next to where I was standing. But it wasn't my flight. I didn't have a ticket. Then, all of a sudden, the silence was broken. The airport had filled with bustling travellers. There were people boarding the flight. Then I saw _her._ It looked as if she was being forced onto the plane. Being dragged by two men. Then she saw me.

"Maya!" she called to me.

"Riley!" I ran over to try and help her. I could see tears running down her cheeks as she struggled to free herself from the grasp of the two men. I tried to help, but before I could act, two security guards grabbed my arms, pulling me back.

"Let me go!" I shouted at them. Then the two men holding Riley turned toward me. But they were no longer the two men. They'd changed into Riley's parents, dragging her towards the gate to board the plane.

"She's coming with _us_!" Topanga sneered, with a sinister grin. Then the security guards holding me dragged me away, further from Riley, despite my struggles.

"No!" I shouted, trying to resist. As I was pulled back, I watched Cory and Topanga dragging Riley through the gate, her cries echoing. All of a sudden, the room caught fire. I could see memories of myself and Riley throughout our friendship, burning before me. I screamed, tears pouring down my face. " _RILEY!"_

I woke up shaking and sweating, in a panic. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down and lower my heart rate, which had to be well over 100 beats per minute. I looked at the clock on my phone. It was nearly 4:00 am. I tried to get back to sleep but I couldn't. I stayed awake for almost an hour. But when I finally got back to sleep, I had another dream, very different than the one I had before.

"Hey, Riles," I said, climbing in through Riley's window.

"Hi, Peaches," she replied, with a bright-eyed grin. I sat beside her, she was on her laptop, looking at something. I had a sketchbook and started to work on a drawing. Riley and I were talking for a while, but I don't remember anything we said. I feel like she mentioned Lucas and her Uncle Josh. We sort of just stopped talking for a while, she was just on her computer and I was sketching, sitting in silence. The next thing I remember, Riley put down the computer and took my sketchbook from me. At first, I was confused, but before I knew what was happening, Riley was kissing me. I didn't resist, I kissed her back. The dream faded from there, into the blackness of a deeper sleep. I'm not sure why it happened, or if our conversation had anything to do with the kiss or the silence the preceded it, but it was the first thing on my mind when I woke up, and I was more confused than I'd ever been.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It was the night after my restless night of weird dreams and my heart did not want to calm down. I knew the anxiety was over, Topanga had made her decision, they were staying. I didn't have to worry about Riley leaving. Yet, for some reason, my heart rate didn't want to go back to normal. I needed to relax. I was spending the night at Riley's, so it shouldn't have been hard to do, but it was.

"Maya, I recorded the pilot of the Red Planet Diaries prequel spin-off, do you wanna watch it?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, sure," I said, though my mind was pre-occupied with deep breathing exercises to try and control my racing heart. Then a thought came to mind. What if the reason my heart was going a mile a minute wasn't because I was nervous? What if it was for another reason? Then I remembered the dream I'd had the night before.

I looked over at Riley. She was entranced by the TV. I noticed that the reflection in her eyes was similar to the twinkle I'd seen in them before she'd kissed me in the dream. All I could think about was the way dream Riley had looked at me before kissing me, the way her lips had felt on mine. It all had felt so...real. My gaze was drawn to Riley's lips, I felt something in my chest, like a twitch. But it was more than a twitch. It was like my heart had beaten louder or something, just that one time when I looked at Riley's lips. My lips tingled at the thought of kissing Riley. I shook the thought from my mind. It was wrong and it was probably nothing.

I tried to focus on the show. I couldn't. I had no idea what was going on or who these new characters were. My mind wandered again. This time to the conversation that dream Riley and I'd had prior to the kiss. I tried to remember what we'd said. I remember something about Lucas and Josh. Maybe there was a connection that would help me figure it out. Well, Lucas was Riley's boyfriend, and Josh was my crush, there _was_ a connection.

I focused on thinking about Lucas. Something stirred inside of me, it seemed like anger. The thought of Riley and Lucas dating angered me. That was the same feeling I'd felt just before the triangle had started. The feeling that made Riley think I liked Lucas. The feeling that I'd said was just the fear of Riley getting hurt. Then I realized it wasn't either of those things. The conversation from the dream came back. All of it.

 _"Hey Riles," I said._

 _"Hi, Peaches," Riley replied._

 _"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for a date with Ranger Rick?" I asked her._

 _"Actually, we broke up," she said._

 _"Really? Why?" I asked, surprised._

 _"It wasn't working," she said. "You know the saying opposites attract? Well, like forces repel, Lucas and I are too similar. We haven't even kissed since our first date two years ago."_

 _"Oh," I said, unsure of what else to say. Something inside me changed, like a weight had been lifted off me or something._

 _"So are you and my uncle Josh a thing now?" she asked._

 _"No," I replied, a little confused as to why she was asking this. "I don't really like him anymore." Riley was silent for a few moments, as if she was pondering something._

 _"Well, there was another reason I broke up with Lucas," she said. "There's someone else."_

 _"Who?" I asked. I felt a burning rage filling inside me. A feeling of jealousy. That was when it happened. That was when Riley kissed me and the jealousy melted away and was replaced by a feeling of security and happiness. That twinkle in her eyes as she leaned in, the spark as our lips touched, it felt real. It felt right._

Now all I could think about was kissing Riley. It was all I wanted. What I'd said about Josh in the dream was true. I didn't like him anymore. There was just her. Just Riley. I noticed the show had ended, the credits were rolling. I had absolutely no idea what had happened on screen.

"Wasn't that good?!" Riley asked, breaking the silence. I said nothing, I was lost in thought. "What part was your favourite? I liked it when they showed Blarg's brother for the first time!" Again, I said nothing. "Peaches, what's wrong?"

"Riles, I need to tell you something," I said, looking into her eyes.

"What is it, Maya?" she asked.

"I think I like you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

There was a long silence. I started to panic. The worst situations all ran through my mind at once. _'What if she doesn't feel the same way? What if she's homophobic? What if we can't be friends anymore?'_ I started to regret telling her. But how could I not tell her? This was _Riley_. I told her everything. I trusted her. But, in this moment, I felt like the one rope I had holding me down had been cut. I didn't want her to react badly. She couldn't. She was Riley. Riley Superklutz. Princess Dancing Sunshine. She loved everybody. She found the good everything. There was no way she couldn't accept this. I knew all this, yet I still had a sinking feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach.

Riley didn't say anything. She put her arms out and I hugged her, holding on to the moment for as long as I could. I felt tears streaming down my face, unable to contain all the emotion I was feeling. Happy because she accepted me, sad because she didn't say she liked me back, confused because this was all so new to me.

"Don't cry, Maya," Riley finally spoke, breaking from the hug to wipe the tears from my face. I inhaled deeply, trying to calm myself and stop crying. "It's okay."

"I-I'm sorry, R-Riley," I managed, between uncontrolled gasps.

"Calm down, you're gonna hyperventilate!" Riley told me, with a concerned look. I struggled to control my breathing. "You don't need to be sorry, Peaches, you can't control how you feel."

"I know," I said. "But you don't like me back, do you?"

"I honestly don't know," Riley said. "I mean, I'm dating Lucas and I've really never thought about liking a girl before."

"Okay," I said, finally getting by breath under control.

"I just need some time to process this," Riley said. I sighed, relaxing for the first time in two days and resting my head on Riley's shoulder. She put her arms around me. I sank into the embrace, letting the sense of security and familiarity wash over me. After a peaceful few minutes of silence, Riley spoke. "Maya, what are you?"

"What do you mean, what am I?" I asked, drowsily, as I had dozed off in the comfort and warmth of Riley's arms.

"I mean, what's your sexual orientation?" she clarified. "I always thought you were straight, you know, with your obvious romantic obsession with my uncle Josh."

"Yeah, I guess I'm bisexual because I do like guys, I just think I overdramatized my feelings for Josh to cover up other feelings, I just never realized it," I said.

"What do you mean?" Riley asked.

"I think, because I was always brainwashed as a kid that I would grow up and marry a man one day, that, when I started having feelings for you, I subconciously pushed them away and compensated with an exaggerated crush on Josh. That's probably part of the reason I didn't realize I liked you until now," I explained.

"Oh," Riley said. "So you mean, you think you've liked me for longer than just, like, a few days?"

"Well, I think I've liked you for a long time, maybe since before I even knew homosexuality and all that even existed," I told her. "I just knew I liked guys and that was enough for me to believe that I was straight. You're really the only girl I've ever liked. Another thing is, maybe, because I love you as a friend, my best friend, that might have masked the romantic feelings I had and made me mistake them for platonic love. You know, like, as friends."

"That could be right," Riley said. "But if that's true, then, what made you realize that you actually like me?"

"A dream," I said.

"A dream?" she questioned.

"Yeah, I had a dream last night that you kissed me. That's what got me thinking," I explained.

"And made you realize that you like me," Riley finished.

"Exactly," I said.

"Wow," she sighed.

"Yeah, wow..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

We'd been sitting in silence for a long time. I liked it, having Riley so close. About a half hour had passed when Riley spoke again.

"We should do something," she said.

"Like what?" I asked.

"I don't know, but this is still a sleepover, we should be having fun," she told me.

"Okay, let's go have fun then," I said, getting up from the couch, even though I was disappointed that our cuddling was over. We went into Riley's room and sat down on her bed. "So, what do you wanna do?"

"Maybe...truth or dare or something?" Riley suggested.

"Umm...okay, truth or dare?" I asked, even though I thought truth or dare might not be the best idea with the context of our current situation.

"Truth," Riley chose.

"Do you think you might be in love with Lucas?" I asked. Riley hesitated to answer, as if she was questioning something.

"No," she replied, after a few seconds. "I mean, I like him, he's great and all, but I don't think I could ever be in love with him."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean, he's great to hang out with, he's really nice, he's cute and all, but there's just not really any real romance there," Riley admitted. I paused to think.

"Well, there is that whole _'he's your brother'_ thing you went through, maybe there's some truth to that," I suggested.

"No, not like a brother, like a friend. I mean, he's cute and nice, but it's almost like we're _too_ similar," she said.

"And like forces repel," I said, quoting Riley from my dream.

"Exactly," Riley said. "I need someone who's different than me, like an opposite that compliments me. You know, like red and green or black and white."

"Yeah," I said, then silently added, _'Or like you and me'_. "Have you guys even kissed since that first time on your first date back in seventh grade?"

"Actually, now that you mention it, no, we haven't," Riley said. She remained silent for a few moments, deep in thought, contemplating.

"Okay, truth or dare," she said, snapping out of the trance.

"Truth," I chose.

"Okay, I think I know the answer to this, but if my uncle Josh asked you out, what would you do?" Riley asked.

"I would tell him, no," I told her.

"Really, why?" she asked, surprised.

"I'm over that stupid crush, I found a new one that makes way more sense," I said, smiling shyly at Riley. Riley blushed, flattered. "Okay, Riles, truth or dare?"

"Umm, dare," she said. I raised my eyebrows.

"Ooh, Riles, feeling confident are we?" I teased. "I dare you to...text Farkle and tell him you're secretly in love with him!"

"Maya! I can't do that!" Riley exclaimed.

"Sure you can," I told her. "You can tell him it was a dare after he reacts."

"Okay, fine," Riley whined, taking her phone out of her pocket. After a minute or so, she showed me the screen, in her conversation with Farkle, she'd typed, _'Farkle, I have to tell you something...I'm secretly in love with you...'_

"I wonder what he'll say," I laughed.

"I don't know, but I hope it's not too strong of a reaction..." Riley said. "Okay, truth or dare?"

"Truth," I said.

"Come on, Maya, I chose dare," Riley said.

"Okay then, dare," I gave in. Riley's phone vibrated.

"Hold on, that's Farkle," Riley said. She unlocked her phone, and then, after a few seconds, showed me what he'd said.

 _'What?! Why couldn't you have said that that before I started dating Smackle?! She's getting suspicious now because I'm not letting her see my texts! What are you gonna tell Lucas?!'_ I read, and burst out laughing. Riley was trying not to laugh because she felt bad, but it was obvious she found it funny, too.

"I'm texting back: _Calm down, it was just a dare Maya gave me, I'm not actually in love with you, Farkle_ ," Riley said. She finished typing and put her phone down. "Okay, where were we?"

"You made me pick dare," I told her, laughing.

"Right..." she said, then the mood in the room turned strangely serious, all of a sudden. "I dare you to kiss me."

"What?!" I asked.

"Well...I thought, that, where I'm confused about my feelings, maybe if I kissed you, it might make me realize if I like you or not," Riley explained.

"Are you sure?" I asked, surprised and confused by Riley's somewhat bizzare logic. Riley nodded. I moved closer, my heart starting to beat faster with every inch I closed between us. I looked into Riley's dark brown eyes until our lips met. I kissed her gently, nervous that this might not go the way I wanted it to. Despite my nervousness, kissing Riley felt like I'd sank into the depths of heaven. The feeling of her lips on mine was incomparable to anything I'd ever felt before. There was a long silence once we broke from the kiss. The awkwardness of the situation had washed over us and the tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. "Maybe we should just go to sleep," I suggested, slightly heartbroken that Riley hadn't reacted more positively. Riley didn't say anything, she just held me close and didn't notice as I silently cried myself to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

I just wrote an entire chapter in an hour! Wow... XD

* * *

I woke up with my arm around Riley. She was already awake, and the sunlight was streaming in brightly through the bay window.

"Good morning, Peaches," she said.

"Morning, Riles," I said, smiling at her and hugging her tighter. "How'd you sleep?"

"I didn't sleep," she said.

"What?" I asked, concerned. I sat up. "Why not?"

"I couldn't," she said, sitting up as well. "I couldn't stop thinking."

"Thinking about what?" I asked.

"Everything that happened last night and more," she explained. "You made me question my sexuality."

"I'm sorry, Riley," I said, feeling bad for putting so much pressure on her.

"No, Maya, don't be sorry," Riley told me. "I was thinking about our friendship. All the confusion from last night made me think about everything. I realized that the way you look at me sometimes isn't just in a friendly way, it's more than that. I remembered that I sometimes look at you the same way. I also realized that maybe the reason we've stayed best friends for so long is because there's something else between us that keeps us together even when everything else is pushing us apart. Maya...I like you, too."

"Really?" I asked. Riley nodded. I hugged her. I couldn't stop grinning. I looked into Riley's eyes, pressing my forehead to hers, cupping her cheek with my palm and leaning in, kissing her soft lips.

"Wait," Riley said, retreating from our embrace far earlier than I would've liked.

"What?" I asked, disappointed.

"What am I gonna tell Lucas?" she asked, worry flooding her eyes.

"Be casual about it," I told her. "Break up with him, tell him what you told me last night, that you can't see yourself falling in love with him. Just let the poor huckleberry down easy."

"But, I feel bad for breaking up with him after he just went through all the trouble of choosing me," she said.

"Well, I can't help you with this one, pumpkin," I told her, with a sigh. "This is all you."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Riley and I met up with Lucas, Farkle and Zay at Topanga's. As soon as we walked in the door, I could see a look of guilt appearing on Riley's face. I squeezed her hand to try and calm her down, but as soon as Lucas turned around, smiling and the two of them made eye contact, she couldn't hold her guilt in any longer.

"Lucas, I cheated on you!" she exclaimed, suddenly. Farkle and Zay's eyes grew wide.

"Ooooooooh!" Zay said. I shot him a dirty look.

" _What?!_ " Lucas asked, jumping up from his seat. "With _who_?! I'm gonna kill him!" I could see Texas Lucas bubbling to the surface as he filled with jealousy and rage, his fists clenched tightly and fire burning in his eyes. "Don't tell me it was Charlie Gardner!"

"Cheese Soufflé!" I exclaimed, out of habit, even though now was not the time. I bit my tongue.

"Lucas, calm down!" Riley exclaimed, panicking. "It wasn't Charlie."

"Who was it then?!" Lucas asked, sitting back down and calming his anger slightly. He then spoke through his gritted teeth, "Whoever it is, he's not getting away from me alive."

"I don't think so Lucas..." Riley said. "You'd never hurt them."

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked, now more confused than angry. "Did you cheat on me with a friend?" Lucas turned to Zay and Farkle, glaring at them.

"No, it wasn't either of them," Riley said, defending the two guys, who looked surprised at Lucas for accusing them.

"Then _who_?!" Lucas asked, getting extensively frustrated that Riley wasn't just telling him.

"It was..." Riley hesitated. She took a deep breath and finally told them. "It was Maya..."

"Wait, did you just say you cheated on me with _Maya_?" Lucas asked. "As in, this girl right here, your best friend, short stack of pancakes, Maya Hart?"

"Watch it, Huckleberry," I told him. Riley nodded, biting her lip. Everything went silent. Lucas just sat there, dumbfounded, with no idea what to make of this situation.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

It had been two days since the awkward confrontation between Riley and Lucas. It hadn't been since then that any of us talked. Except for me and Riley. We'd been texting nearly non-stop all weekend. Most of our conversations were talking about what Riley was going to do about our 'situation'. Then again, there was also quite a bit of flirting between the two of us...

Riley and I walked into our first class of the day, which just so happened to be history. Mr. Matthews stood behind his desk, the word 'Loyalty' was written in large capital letters on the chalkboard. Once everyone had taken their seats, Mr. Matthews began the lesson.

"Loyalty. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of this word?" he asked.

"A loyal comapanion, like a dog," Farkle spoke up.

"Okay," Mr. Matthews said. "Loyalty means to be faithful to someone, or something, and not betraying that person or thing. Before the Revolutionary War, America was loyal to Britain. Even during the war, there were Americans that didn't want to leave Britain to become an independent nation. Does anyone know what these people were called?" Farkle put his hand up. "Farkle."

"Loyalists, sir," Farkle replied.

"Correct," Mr. Matthews said. "There were people called loyalists who were loyal to being a British colony. They didn't want to betray Britain, because they believed they needed to be faithful citizens. Your assignment this week is to decide whether or not you think loyalty is important."

"Is your father psychic?" I asked Riley.

"Sometimes, I think he might be," she replied. I grinned.

* * *

Later that afternoon, I went over to Riley's apartment to work on our assignment. I climbed up the fire escape to Riley's window, but the curtains were closed. The only time her curtains closed were closed was when she wasn't home, but she hadn't said that she was going anywhere, so I tried the window. It was open. I pushed the curtain aside and climbed into the room, only to find Riley and Lucas sitting on Riley's bed, _kissing_.

"Riley?!" I exclaimed, hurt, startling the two and making them jump back from each other. "What's going on?! I thought you were gonna break up!"

"Why would we break up?" Lucas asked. "Riley just apologized for cheating and I forgave her."

"What?" I asked. "Riley, you told me that you didn't think this relationship between the two of you could go anywhere! Now the two of you are here making out behind my back?!"

"Wait, Riley, is that true?" Lucas asked. "Do you not think we could end up together?" Riley hesitated to speak.

"Well, yeah..." she admitted, nervously. "On Friday night, I told Maya that I don't think I could ever fall in love with you. That you and I are too similar and that we're better as just friends."

"If you feel that way, then why did you kiss me just now?" he asked.

"I didn't want to cheat on you and then dump you, I thought that if I made you too mad, we couldn't be friends any more," Riley explained. "I also think it's easier to just date a boy and pretend I'm straight than date a girl and have to go through all the trouble of coming out and the possibility that people might not accept me for who I am."

"Riley, I know that it can be hard to come out as bi or pansexual, but that doesn't mean you should hide it and stay in a relationship that doesn't feel right," Lucas said.

"Yeah, Riles, don't do that to yourself," I told her.

"I guess so..." Riley said.

"Riley, I know you can't see yourself falling in love with me," Lucas said. "But could you ever see yourself falling in love with Maya?"

"Well, we've been best friends for so long, I know I can trust her, more than anybody," she told him. "I don't want to live in a world without her. So, yeah, I guess I could fall in love with her." My heart skipped a beat. I grinned.

"Riley, if you don't think we can be together, and you think you'll be better with Maya, you should go for it," he said. "I don't mind not being your boyfriend, as long as you're happy. If being with Maya makes you happy, you have my full support."

"Thank you, Lucas," Riley said, hugging him. "Does that mean we're breaking up? Again?"

"If that's what you think is right," Lucas told her.

"It is," she said. I stepped closer.

"So Riles, now that you're single, you wanna be my girlfriend?" I asked her.

"Yes, I would love to be your girlfriend," Riley replied, smiling at me. I leaned down and kissed her, smiling against her lips.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

I broke from the kiss and gazed into Riley's eyes for a brief moment, smiling at her. I turned to Lucas. So did Riley.

"What're you smiling about, Ranger Rick?" I asked, noticing the grin that had spread over the Texan's face. "I just stole your girl."

"She's not 'my girl' any more," he said.

"Yeah, Maya," Riley said. "I'm all yours now."

* * *

The next day at school, Riley and I walked together everywhere, we were inseparable, even more so than we were before. We'd spent the entire previous afternoon working on our project and we were ready to present it today. Even though the due date wasn't until Friday, Riley had convinced Mr. Matthews to let us present it early, so that's what we were going to do, third period today.

We went into English, our first period class and sat down beside each other. We'd been studying _'The Fault in our Stars'_ by John Green. My favourite quote from that book was "I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once." I felt like that quote was relevant to my relationship with Riley. How I'd gone so long without realizing I liked her, but as soon as I did, I indulged in the feelings. Slowly and then all at once.

We spent most of the class reading the book. Some students took notes and worked on our novel study assignment. I just read it slowly. Reading some paragraphs repeatedly, relating the situations from the book to how I felt about Riley. By the time class was over, I was less reading the book and more deep in thought.

Once third period came around, it seemed as though Zay and Farkle were catching on that Riley and I were together, and I think our presentation confirmed that for them. We stood up in front of the class, the word Loyalty still printed on the board behind us.

"We believe that loyalty _is_ important," Rilay said.

"But only in the right circumstances," I added.

"If you are loyal to sombody or something, but then decide that being loyal to that person or thing doesn't feel right, you don't have to be loyal anymore," Riley explained.

"As long as you're doing what you think is right, it doesn't matter what you're loyal to," I continued.

"Like the loyalists during the revolutionary war," Riley said. "They believed that being loyal to Britain was the right thing."

"But the other Americans thought it was a better idea for America to become it's own independent nation," I added. "They were once loyal to Britain, but then moved on to something new, to what they believed was right."

"So if you are loyal to one thing but then decide against it, it's not necessarily betrayal, it's doing what you believe is right," she said.

"You are your own individual and you have the right to be true and loyal to your own beliefs," I concluded. Riley and I looked at each other, sharing a grin. The class applauded as we held hands and took a bow before returning to our seats.

* * *

At lunch, Riley and I sat with Lucas, Zay, Farkle and Smackle as we always did.

"I like what you guys did with your presentation," Lucas said.

"Somehow our lives always reflect history," Riley remarked.

"So, would that make me Britain?" Lucas asked. Riley nodded. "I guess that means I'm Mortimer Twigglebottom Smythe!"

"Stop!" I shouted, before he could continue.

"Yeah, man, don't even start," Zay agreed. "So are the two of you like, a thing now?" he asked, directing his attention to Riley and I.

"Wait, I feel like I haven't been informed of an event in our lives," Smackle interrupted.

"Long story," I said. "But yes, Riley and I are a couple now." Zay grinned.

"So how did this even start?" Farkle asked.

"I had a dream that Riley kissed me, and it made me realize that I like her," I told them, even though it was far more complicated than that.

"That's sweet," Smackle commented.

"So, Lucas, Zay, does this mean the two of you are gonna get together now?" Farkle joked.

"Oh, totally," Zay said, playing along and kissing Lucas on the cheek. We all burst out laughing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

I pulled Riley into the bathroom after class.

"Maya, why are we in here?" she asked. "We're gonna miss our train!"

"Shhh," I told her, before kissing her with rough passion. I hadn't had a chance to kiss her all day and it had been driving me crazy. I felt her arms around my shoulders as she kissed me back. What I didn't realize was that we weren't alone in the bathroom. I didn't notice when one of the stall doors opened.

"Ooh," I heard. I broke from the kiss and spun around to see Darby standing there smirking at us. "I thought you were dating Lucas, Riley."

"Uhh, we broke up," Riley said, blushing bright red from being caught kissing me. Darby didn't say anything as she washed her hands and left the bathroom.

"That was weird," I said.

"Yeah," Riley agreed, still a little embarrassed.

"Come on, Riles,we should go before we miss the train. I kissed her again, quickly and we left the bathroom. By that time, Darby wasn't the only one who knew about Riley and I, half our grade had crowded around the bathroom door, waiting.

"So, what are ya?" Sarah asked. It was like when Riley and Lucas kissed for the first time all over again.

"We don't have time for this!" I shouted, holding Riley's hand and pushing our way through the crowd of ninth graders.

* * *

Once we'd taken the train back to Riley's apartment, Riley collapsed on her bed.

"What're we gonna do Maya?" she sighed, obviously conflicted by the idea of the whole grade knowing about our relationship.

"Well, right now, let's not overthink it, let's just enjoy being together and deal with that issue when the time comes," I told her. Riley smiled.

"I love you, Maya," Riley said.

"What did you just say?" I asked, knowing that saying that meant something different now that we were together.

"I said that I love that about you, Maya," Riley corrected herself, quickly, in hope that I wouldn't notice.

"No, that's not what you said," I said, with a grin, as I walked over to the bed from the bay window.

"Yes, it was," Riley persisted, fairly convincingly. Fortunately for me, I knew better.

"No," I said, sitting on Riley's stomach. "It wasn't."

"Maya!" Riley grunted, under my weight. I smirked.

"What did you say, Riley?" I asked, teasingly. I tickled her, in an attempt to get an answer from her and making her laugh.

"I said: I love that about you!" she shrieked, still persisting, but now in a fit of laughter. I leaned down and kissed her all over her face.

"No, you didn't!" I said, between kisses. I was now laughing too from how cute Riley's laugh was. I kept tickling her and kissing all over her cute face until she was out of breath.

"Fine! Fine," she finally said, giving in. I stopped, my hands now holding me up on the bed, still on top of her. "I said: I love you, Maya."

"Wow, really?" I teased, with a grin.

"I didn't mean it like that," she said, blushing.

"No?" I asked, fake pouting and pretending I was disappointed.

"Not _yet_ ," Riley emphasized.

"Oh, okay," I said, grinning at her, before leaning down and kissing her on the lips.

"My stomach hurts from laughing, now," Riley complained, after I broke from the kiss.

"What, do you want me to do? Kiss it better?" I asked, teasingly. Riley blushed, hard.

"Don't go getting any ideas," she told me.

"Don't worry, I just like seeing you blush, it's cute," I told her, and kissed her again, pinning her wrists to the bed. Both of us were smiling and giggling as we kissed. I got so wrapped up in kissing her, I didn't notice when the door opened.

"Riley...What the-?!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

I jumped back, off of Riley and my eyes shot to the doorway. Mr. Matthews had caught us. He must've just gotten home.

 _'Oh, shit...'_ I thought, waiting for the worst. Riley sat up, nobody had said anything. Mr. Matthews looked like he'd seen a ghost. Frankly, walking in on your teenage daughter practically making out with her best friend is probably worse than seeing a ghost.

"Topanga!" he shouted, and ran away.

"Well, I guess that's the end of our secret," I said, trying to keep calm. I was internally screaming with fear, afraid that Riley was going to be punished.

"Maya, I'm scared," Riley said. I took her hand in mine and held her closer to me.

"I know, pumpkin, I'm scared, too," I told her. "But, it's gonna be okay." After a few minutes of silence, Mr. Matthews returned with Topanga.

"Can somebody explain what's going on?" she asked, obviously confused by what was happening.

"They were _kissing_ ," Mr. Matthews exclaimed, making it seem like a way bigger deal than it was.

"Riley, what happened to Lucas?" Topanga asked.

"I broke up with him," Riley said.

"Why?" she asked. "I thought you two were finally ready to be boyfriend and girlfriend."

"I didn't think it was going to work out," Riley explained.

"So why were you and Maya kissing?" Topanga asked. Silence. "Riley?"

"Maya's my girlfriend," Riley finally admitted. It felt good to hear her say it, but not under these circumstances. There was a long silence.

"Your...girlfriend," Cory repeated.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that, Matthews?!" I asked, defensively and jumped to my feet.

"Maya, calm down!" Riley exclaimed, pulling me back. I took a deep breath.

"So, how long has this been going on without us knowing?" Topanga asked.

"Three days," Riley said.

"So what...are you? Like, sexuality-wise?" she asked.

"I don't know," Riley said. "I just know that I want to be with Maya."

"Oh, okay..." Topanga said. "Well, we support you in whatever life you choose."

"Thanks, mom," Riley said.

"Now, get out of my daughter's room!" Mr. Matthews demanded me.

"No," I said.

"What do you mean, no?" he asked.

"I mean, this shouldn't change anything," I told him. "Just because Riley's my girlfriend now, doesn't mean you should treat me any differently than you did before."

"Well I just..." he started. I cut him off.

"You just, what?" I asked, challenging him. "You trust _me_ with Riley more than anyone else. You made me go out on Riley's first date with her and Lucas to keep her safe. You know this doesn't change anything."

"But you were kissing..." he said.

"So what?" I asked. "It's not like I can get her pregnant. Wouldn't you rather it be me that Riley's with, than a boy you can't trust? Wouldn't you rather her be dating someone you've known for almost ten years, that has come in that window almost every day since we met? Someone who's been there for her through everything? Just because I'm her girlfriend now, doesn't mean I'm not me any more." I started to cry.

"I just don't want her to get hurt," he said.

"Oh, and you think _I_ would hurt _Riley_?" I shouted, through my tears. " _I'm_ hurt that you would even _think_ that! I would _die_ sooner than I would let someone hurt Riley. I care about Riley more than _anyone_ in the world and you think I'd _hurt_ her?! I can't even stand to see her cry! It breaks me to see her hurt, breaks me more than I already am! Riley is a part of me and nothing could ever change that! Just be _happy_ for her!" I collapsed, sobbing into Riley's shoulder.

"Maybe we should leave them alone," I heard Topanga say. I listened until I heard the door close. I looked up from Riley's shoulder and into her eyes, trying to calm myself.

"Are you okay?" Riley asked me. I nodded.

"I'm okay as long as you are," I told her, wrapping her in a hug.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Riley held me until I stopped crying. I loved cuddling with her, more than anything else. It made me feel better, safer.

"Thank you," she said, after a long few minutes of silence.

"For what?" I asked.

"For standing up like that," Riley told me. "You were right, just because you're my girlfriend now, doesn't mean they should treat you any differently."

"I'm glad you think so, too," I told her, looking up at her from our embrace and smiling.

"Have I told you I think you're pretty fierce?" Riley asked.

"Have I told you I think you're pretty cute?" I asked, in reply. She gave me a shy smile and I kissed her. It was at that moment I realized what love was. I'd risked not being able to see Riley anymore, just so she wouldn't get hurt. I said that I'd rather die than see Riley get hurt, which was absolutely true. Riley was my everything and there was no way I could ever let anything hurt her. That's what love is. Putting someone before yourself because you care more about them than you do yourself. I wouldn't be able to live without Riley, and that's why it impacted me so hard when the possibility existed that she might leave. I knew I loved Riley, but the idea of living without seeing her every day made me realize that I loved her in more ways than one, and my dreams from that one night reflected that.

I knew I loved Riley, but I didn't dare say it. Riley had just said minutes before that she didn't love me in that way. Well, she didn't love me in that way _yet_ , implying that there was a start of something that didn't quite exist yet, but would. Riley broke the silence, interrupting my train of deep thought.

"Now that we're officially together, shouldn't we go out on a date?" she asked.

"Well, not necessarily," I told her. "Usually people go on dates to get to know each other better and to spend time together. We already know each other better than anyone else and we're spending time together right now.

"Oh, okay," Riley said, sounding disappointed. Then I had an idea.

"Riles, I should proabably go, my mom and Shawn are probably expecting me for supper, soon," I half-lied.

"Okay, bye, Peaches," she said.

"Bye, Riles," I said, with a smile, before quickly kissing her and leaving through the window. I ran down the fire escape and most of the way to the subway. Choosing the quickest route to my apartment building, I got a ticket and got on the train. The ride seemed to last forever and I'd started to wonder if I would've been faster if I ran. Once the train arrived, I ran up to the street and to my apartment building.

"Whoa, Maya, why so out of breath?" Shawn asked as I got inside.

"Running..." I managed to pant out before going into my room. I went to my closet, my hands flying over every outfit I had. _'Not good enough,'_ I thought, for every single one. _'Not good enough for her.'_

"Are you okay, baby girl?" I heard my mom ask from outside my door.

"I'm fine," I called back, too focused on finding an outfit. I came across a red leather jacket I didn't remember having. It looked brand new, like I'd never worn it before. I put it on my bed, maybe I was getting somewhere with this. I looked at a skirt. _'No, that would make me look like a biker from the fifties,'_ I thought. I found ripped black jeans and a black tank top. Throwing them down on the bed, I rummaged through the bottom of my closet and retrieved a shoe box which held a pair of black leather boots with heels. I put the outfit on and added a few silver necklaces. Then, I left my room, only to be stopped by my mom and Shawn.

"And where do you think you're going dressed up so fancy?" Mom asked.

"On a date," I said. "Now excuse me, or I'm gonna be late."

"On a date?!" Shawn asked. "With who?"

"Not imporatant, bye!" I exclaimed, trying to push past them.

"Who is he?" Shawn asked, more seriously this time and blocking my path again.

"Nobody," I said, trying to push past again, getting to the door this time. Shawn held it closed.

"You aren't going anywhere until you tell me who this boy is that you're going out with," he stated.

"Fine!" I said. "But it's not a boy! It's Riley!" Shawn's hand dropped from the door in shock. I opened it. "Thanks, bye!" I said, waving and grinning as I slipped out of the apartment and ran back to the train station.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

When I got back to Riley's apartment, I was incredibly nervous. I wasn't sure why, it was Riley, it would be strange to be nervous around her. Yet I was. I went up the fire escape to her window. I'd bought a bouquet of flowers on the way here. Cheesy, I know, but Riley likes cheesy, she's Riley. I knocked lightly, careful not to startle her. She was lying on her bed on her phone. She scrolled through it, bored. _'Perfect timing'_ I thought. She looked up to see me. Her face lit up. I smiled. She came over and opened the window.

"Maya!" she exclaimed, surprised but happy to see me back so soon.

"Riley Matthews," I said, holding out the bouquet. "Will you go on a date with me?" Riley grinned.

"Yes," she replied. "Of course I will, Peaches." I took her hand and guided her out the window and down the fire escape.

"So, where do you want to go?" I asked her.

"I don't know," she said.

"Well we could go for a walk in a park," I suggested.

"Okay," she agreed. I saw as she quickly texted her parents to notify them that she was going out. We walked down to the subway station and got on the train. There was one free seat. "You can have it," Riley offered.

"Yeah, and you can sit on my lap," I told her, with a devilish smirk, sitting on the seat.

"What?" she asked, but before she could deny it, the subway started to move, and she fell into my lap anyway. I gave her a smug grin.

"It was bound to happen," I told her, innocently. I noticed two men on the other side of the train, giving us dirty looks and whispering to each other. "Does this _bother_ you?!" I shouted at them across the subway. They looked at me as if they were surprised I'd noticed them.

"Maya!" Riley scolded.

"It's okay Riles," I said, before turning back to the men. "Well this is normal, so you're gonna have to deal with it!" I pulled Riley closer and kissed her for dramatic effect. When the train stopped, the two men got off. I don't know if it was actually their stop, or if it was because they were homophobic.

"That was a good thing you did, Maya," Riley said, cuddling into my shoulder. I put my arms around her.

We arrived a few minutes later. Leaving the station, Riley and I walked out into the cool evening air. I inhaled deeply, taking in everything around me. The touch of nature in such a big city was nice. I took Riley's hand as we walked, she smiled and blushed. The sun was setting over a pond nearby, it was absolutely breathtaking.

"That is beautiful," Riley said.

"Wanna watch it?" I asked her.

"Okay," she agreed. I lead her over to the edge of the water, sitting down on the grass and leaning against an birch tree. Riley sat down beside me, resting her head on my shoulder. Our hands remain locked together as we looked upon the majestic blend of pink, orange, purple and blue. Most of the area around us was surprisingly silent, with the exception of the calls of some distant ducks and geese. I listened to Riley's soft breath, escaping from reality for several minutes.

Our silence was broken rather abruptly when we heard laughing from behind us. I looked to see a college age man and woman walking together. He was tall and lean with dark brown hair and a short beard. She had short auburn hair with blue bangs. They laughed and talked as they walked together. The man noticed us sitting there and started yelling out to us.

"Hey, you gays are a disgrace to this world!" he shouted, laughing.

"Yeah!" the woman chimed in. "You couldn't find a man willing to settle for you?" I stood up suddenly, startling Riley. My blood boiled, anger pulsed through my veins. I went over to the two, who looked more amused by my anger than intimidated. Riley came over to stop me, but I didn't let her.

"What's your problem?" I asked them.

"You," he said. "Why would you want her when you can have a man?"

"Because maybe I don't want one," I said. "Maybe she's better than a man because she doesn't act like an asshole, like you."

"Why would you even like a girl? It's not natural," he asked.

"Why do _you_ like girls?" I shot back.

"Uhh, because I'm a normal guy and I'm not _gay_ ," he replied.

"Go to hell," I told him.

"We'll see you there, sinners," the girl retorted, with a sinister laugh. I hadn't noticed, but our argument had backed Riley and I dangerously close to the pond. The guy shoved Riley and the two ran off. Riley lost her balance and fell backwards into the cold water.

"Riley!" I shouted. I grabbed her hand and helped her up. She was soaking wet and shivering uncontrollably. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," she replied, with a stutter.

"Here, take this," I said, struggling to take off my jacket to give to her and trying not to panic. I took out my phone and called Riley's parents for help.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

I waited for someone to pick up. Nothing.

"Come on, come on," I begged, starting to worry for Riley.

"Maya, my parents are probably gone out already, I told you they were bringing Auggie to his soccer game."

"Okay," I said, with a sigh, giving up. "Come on, let's get a cab so we can get you warm." We walked out to the street and I hailed a cab.

"Bit early in the year for swimming, ain't it?" the driver joked. I scowled and gave him Riley's address. I held Riley close for the whole ride, trying to keep her warm.

"Why didn't you just call your mom and Shawn?" she asked me.

"I-I couldn't," I told her.

"Why not?" Riley asked.

"Because I told them I was going out with you and I don't know how they reacted, I left before they could," I explained. "They're probably mad."

"Oh..." Riley said. "Maya, you should have told me."

"I didn't want to ruin our night, not that it matters now," I said.

"Our night isn't ruined," Riley said. "It was nice until those jerkfaces showed up. When we get to my apartment we can watch a movie or something, it's not that bad."

"You're right," I agreed. I looked out the window, smiling. I loved how Riley saw the good in situations. She made life so much more worth living. When we got to her building, I rushed her inside and into her apartment. We went into her room. I got a towel for her from the bathroom. "Here, take off your wet clothes." Riley eyed me suspiciously.

"Just don't look," she told me. I turned away.

"Okay, I won't," I said. I lied.

"I'm dressed," she said, a few minutes later. I turned back around, not being able to keep myself from smirking.

"You looked!" she scolded, blushing and tackling me onto the bed.

"Hey," I said, laughing. "If you really hadn't wanted me to look, you wouldn't have let me stay in here."

* * *

I woke up to the sound of an unfamiliar alarm. I opened my eyes and realized I was still in Riley's room. ' _Oh, crap...'_ I thought. I must've fallen asleep while Riley and I were talking. I noticed Riley waking up. She stretched and yawned, shutting off the alarm. Then she noticed I was still there.

"Maya! What are you doing still here?" she asked.

"Shh!" I quieted her. Her parents would kill me if they found out I'd spent the night.

"You're gonna be in _so_ much trouble for not going home last night," she told me, as if I hadn't already figured that out.

"Yeah, I know, I guess I fell asleep here last night and never woke up to go home," I said.

"Come on, get up, you can borrow some clothes," she suggested.

"Okay," I agreed. My leather jacket was still on the window seat where I'd left it. I took off my jewelry and put it on Riley's dresser.

"Here," she said, throwing me a t-shirt and hoodie. I pulled off my tank top to replace it with the grey shirt Riley had given me. "Maya!"

"What? Never seen a bra before?" I asked, with fake surprise. I put on the shirt and pulled the hoodie on over it.

"You could've gone in the bathroom to change," she said.

"Come on, don't tell me you didn't like what you saw," I teased, smirking. Riley blushed.

"Here, put these on," she said, changing the subject and giving me a pair of sneakers. I changed out of my boots.

We finished getting ready and Riley went out to the kitchen. I left through the window and when it turned seven o'clock, I buzzed up to the apartment like I normally did, as if nothing had happened. Riley invited me inside, Topanga offered me some food and I accepted. Then, Riley and I left for school.

"I can't believe we got away with that," Riley said.

"We haven't yet," I said. I held up my phone to show her the texts I'd recieved from my mom the night before.

' _Where are you? It's past your curfew,_ 'she read. This was followed by. ' _Maya, get home, now!_ 'and ' _Maya Penelope Hart, it's nearly 3 am, where are you?!_ '

"What're you gonna say?" Riley asked.

"Probably something like, _'I was scared to come home 'cause I thought you'd be mad'_ ," I replied.

"You shouldn't lie," Riley said.

"It's technically not lying," I said, writing the text and sending it. "I _was_ scared to go home, I just happened to fall asleep."

When we got to school, Riley sighed.

"Here we go!" I said, taking a deep breath and waiting for the overwhelming stampede of curious students.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Almost as soon as Riley and I walked in the door most of our grade, and even some older students swarmed us. Just as I'd expected, there were questions flying through the air, hitting Riley and I with more pressure than we could handle.

"Yes, Riley and I are together!" I shouted, to calm everyone down. The entire corridor went dead silent. "Yeah, you heard me! Now, get your own lives and let us live ours without the freaking paparazzi attacking us!" I pulled Riley through the crowd once again and over to Lucas and Zay, who were waiting for us by our lockers.

"What the heck is going on?" Zay asked.

"Apparently it's a gigantic deal when anyone starts dating in this school," I said.

"It was the same way last year when Riley and I went out for the first time," Lucas added.

"People didn't make _this_ big of a deal when some girl got _pregnant_ back in Texas," Zay said.

"Pregnant?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, every now and then, back at our old school in Austin, one or two girls in twelfth grade got pregnant," Lucas replied.

" _That_ young?" Riley asked.

"Sure Riles, there've probably been people _here_ that have gotten pregnant in high school, too," I told her. "A lot of people drop out when they have a baby though."

"We should go to class," Zay suggested. We all agreed and left to go to class.

* * *

After school, I went over to Riley's to avoid my mom and Shawn.

"You know you can't just avoid them forever," Riley said.

"But I'm scared of what they'll say," I told her.

"You have to confront them, find out what they actually think," Riley explained. "I really don't think they'll be mad.

"But what if they are?" I asked.

"If they are, they'll get over it," she replied.

"But what if they don't, what if they disown me?" I asked.

"Maya, are you actually afraid that could happen?" Riley asked, deep concern now present in her tone. I nodded. "Maya, your mom loves you too much to ever do that! And I know Shawn, he loves you like his own daughter, he could never hurt you like that, either."

"Are you sure?" I asked. Riley nodded, wrapping me in a hug.

"And if anything bad happens, you're always welcome here," she assured me.

"Thanks Riles," I said.

* * *

Riley rode with me on the subway back to my apartment. I was sweating bullets and holding Riley's hand far too tight for her comfort. She didn't say anything though. She endured my vice-like grip because it made me feel safer. I love that about her. Once we got to my apartment, I was nearly hyperventilating with panic. I paced back and forth outside the door, unable to go inside.

"Maya, it's okay, calm down," Riley said. She stopped me from pacing, taking my hands in hers and looking me in the eye. "You have absolutely _nothing_ to worry about, and don't forget that I'm here for you."

' _I love you,_ ' I thought. The only words running through my mind. "Thank you," I said, not wanting to rush things. I kissed Riley and opened my apartment door before I lost the confidence to do so. I walked in and my mom ran over and hugged me.

"Where have you been, baby girl?" she asked, concern flooding her voice.

"With Riley," I said. I saw Shawn come out of the bedroom.

"Maya! You scared us when you didn't come home last night, what happened?" he asked.

"I got scared that you'd be mad at me, then I fell asleep at Riley's and didn't wake up until her alarm went off this morning," I explained.

"Why would we be mad at you?" Mom asked.

"Because I'm dating a girl," I told her, my voice small.

"Maya, you should know we support you no matter what," Shawn told me.

"We love you, baby girl," Mom added.

"I love you, too," I told them, hugging them both and holding back tears.


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry about the long-ass time it took me to update! It's been a total of 34 days, and that's the longest time it's taken me to update something in quite some time. The reason is, I needed a way to end this, and all my ideas were too short to use. But it's finally finished and there will be a sequel, hence the title of this story being "Just the Beginning". With that, in the words of Joey Graceffa, without further damn ado, here's the final chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

"Whatcha wanna do tonight, Riles?" I asked her, looking up at her from laying on her chest. Her hands rested in mine and I traced circles on her palm with my thumb. There had been a few nights when both of us were too busy with homework to go out together, but now it was Friday and we were both free. "See a movie? Go out to dinner?"

"Can we just stay here and cuddle?" she asked.

"I'd like that," I said with a smile. She leaned down and kissed me.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"What? I'm not allowed to kiss my girlfriend?" Riley teased.

"Ooh, flirting are we?" I teased back.

"How is that flirting?" she laughed.

"Cause I like it when you call me your girlfriend," I told her, sitting up.

"Why? It's true isn't it?" she asked, with a laugh.

"Yeah, that's why I like it," I told her, sitting on her lap to face her. I bit my lip seductively before leaning in to kiss her. I loved the feeling of kissing Riley. The way her lips felt against mine couldn't be described in any other way besides _right_. I pinned her wrists down to deepen the kiss...only to be interrupted by a knock at the window.

"Riley, Maya..." I heard Farkle's voice from the bay window. Riley and I looked over to see Farkle, Lucas and Zay in the window. "Woah, sorry, are we interrupting something?" Riley practically pushed me off her with embarrassment.

"No," she said, rather frantically. "Come in." Riley sat up and Farkle climbed through the window with Lucas and Zay behind him.

"You sure we're not interrupting, 'cause we can come back later," Lucas suggested. He himself looked slightly embarrassed to have seen his ex-girlfriend in a situation like this.

"Yeah, looked like you had a pretty heavy make-out session going," Zay joked, making Riley blush. Lucas elbowed him.

"Nah," I said, then turned to Riley with a mischievous grin. "But we could... Whaddya say Riles? Wanna make out?" I leaned over and kissed her neck, playfully teasing her. She gasped when I bit gently above her collarbone. She pushed me away again, turning a deeper red.

"Maya!" she scolded. I smirked at her, snickering.

"Okay, okay! Get a room!" Zay exclaimed. We all laughed.

"We're all going to Topanga's to work on our group assignment about suffrage and womens' rights, you coming?" Farkle asked.

"Homework on a Friday night?" I questioned. "I think I'd rather stay here with my girlfriend."

"See, Farkle," Lucas said. "I said nobody was gonna want to do homework on a Friday."

"Yeah, even Smackle's out partying with her friends from Einstein Academy," Zay added. Farkle frowned.

"Well, the three of us can still get a start on it, can't we?" he asked.

"Sure, Farkle," Lucas sighed.

"It's not like we have anything more fun than a History assignment to be doing on a Friday night," Zay retorted at Farkle. Sarcasm dripped from his words like water from a saturated sponge.

"Goodnight, girls," Lucas said, following Farkle and Zay back out the window.

"Have fun with your boyfriends, Ranger Rick," I remarked, earning dirty looks from both Lucas and Riley. "So, Riles, where were we?"

"I think it was something like this," Riley replied, with a devilish smirk. She took my hands and pulled me down on top of her.

"Ooh, Riles, I likes this new side of you," I teased. I kissed her for a few seconds.

"This is the best part of having a girlfriend," Riley said.

"What? Kissing me while being pinned down on your bed?" I asked, jokingly and making Riley blush again.

"No! Just spending time with you!" Riley corrected, with a cute giggle.

"Oh," I said. "Here I was thinking you liked this."

"I do!" she exclaimed, laughing. I raised my eyebrows, skeptically. "That's not what I-!"

"I know Riles, I'm just teasing," I said, grinning and kissing her again.

"I love you, Maya," she said. My heart stopped for a second before I replied.

"But not _like that_...right?" I asked. I could hear the blood pulsing through my veins: a response to the sudden suspense of the situation.

"No, Maya, I _love_ you," she restated. I swallowed hard, the excitement rising inside me at a rate faster than the speed of light.

"I love you, too, Riles," I told her. An immense grin spread across both of our faces and we kissed once again in a whirlwind of seemingly eternal happiness. But that, my friends, was just the beginning.


End file.
